battling stigma

Who are WE? We are a Mother, daughter, friend, wife, aunt, sister different age and Nationalities. National Women and Girls HIV/AIDS Awareness Day is a day set aside to empower every woman worldwide who's living with HIV/AIDS.

Many that know me through social media know that I guide and try to answer all the questions that come to me…I get thousands a month and with all the travel and work I do I can’t keep up sometimes!!...

HIV – Stigma and Discrimination / Love, Life, Laughter – HIV is a nothing if taken in a positive way, it is just another disease – the only fine line that separates it is IGNORANCE Being HIV Positive...

Recently I saw on the news a wonderful story of a family here in CO that had adopted several HIV+ children from Uganda and other countries. They had educated themselves about the illness and adopted...

Got results today, not for bloods but from my annual cervical smear; all good, as usual. I dutifully go every year to follow recommended procedure because of my status. Staring at the familiar flowers on the ceiling at my local GUM clinic I have a kind of epiphany, "HIV is for life, not just for clinic visits".

In my previous blogs I spoke a lot about what life was like being diagnosed with HIV. I spoke of the shame and guilt I felt along with the shame people placed upon me because of this disease. I hated my fate, I hated the man and I hated me. I stopped living, dreaming and hoping. It wasn't until I began to deal with the issues that impacted the life that led me to HIV that I began to live again.

A few weeks ago, I had the pleasure of attending the PWN SPEAK UP! National Summit for Women Living with HIV with more than 200 other women. The days were filled with workshops, activities, empowerment sessions, and hope. Although much has changed in the past 30 years, and there are now women specific policies and guidelines, there is still more work to be done. Advocating for women's rights is a continued process.